The Office (U.S. Version)
Introduction '''The Online Community''' Technology and the internet have facilitated the growth of online discussions and interpretive communities. Forums, blogs, and other discussion websites are able to function on the principles of participation and collective intellect. Supporters and enthusiasts voluntarily share and discuss prominent issues of mutual interest. Members distribute news, engage in discussions, and have the potential to leak “forbidden knowledge” to other participants. Just as Prometheus endowed Man with the fruit of his knowledge, by giving him fire and an upright stature like the Gods,Bulfinch, Thomas. ''Prometheus and Pandora. ''Course Readings knowledge communities explore similar unknown bounds of their material interests. These online communities aim to foster information from various members in order to reach a more profound understanding of a certain television show, novel, film, etc. where all members benefit and rejoice. The online audience stretches from limitless bounds. Technology assists people in using this virtual space, which is shared amongst those who have access to it. It also enables us to experience, share, and relive real-world culture in a relatively new manner. '''Understanding Remediation''' The online fan-base conjures reinterpretations and additions to their favorite issues of interest by employing the technology of blogs, forums, and wikis. Some of these electronic portals, such as fanfiction.com, allow the fans to become authors and carry stories further to places where the producers and writers of the original material, due to lack of resources, could have never imagined. The internet allows remediation by amateur writers to become easy. As Keith Phipps puts it, fans can “reach a potentially limitless audience with the push of a button.”Phipps,Keith.'' Excursions to the Outer Limits of Fan-Fiction.Course Readings.'' ''Furthering the fictional world of shows, books, and movies, the fans are empowered to construct an artificial reality involving the characters from their beloved shows and the internet, as the medium of sharing and communication. Enthusiasts of the show become authors and dictate the characters’ actions, like a simulation. In addition, the community is able to share information about actors’ and protagonists’ personal lives and discuss their implications. '''''The Office'' Online Community''' Online communities and interpretive discussion erupt whenever there are issues of contention about relevant shows. The fictional world of NBC’s sitcom, ''The Office, ''is an example in this regard.'' ''After premiering in 2005, ''The Office, ''has earned many Emmy, Golden Globe, and even international awards and nominations, and has generated a considerable audience of fans following over the years. The show has completed eight successful seasons and there are viral reports that the ninth season is already in production. The fan community has discovered the internet as a medium for expression and discussion on show and episode related matters. Reactions and ideas from the show’s fans and enthusiasts are prominent in the online community that supplements the show and have even received the serious attention of the show’s producers and writers. The show reached a potential wall, after Steve Carrell, the show’s key comedic element, decided to part ways with the production in order to focus his acting on more character-based realism roles. Coyle, Jake. “Steve Carell Leaves 'The Office': What's Next?” http://tinyurl.com/96bxho6 There was a surge in mixed attitudes towards his decision and the potential impact it would carry. Rainn Wilson, who plays the “hard-working, alpha-male, jackhammer, merciless, and insatiable” role of Dwight Schrute in the show "Traveling Salesman". ''The Office.'' NBC. Jan. 18, 2007 describes Carrell’s departure as “heaviness hanging over the proceedings.” Rice,Lynette. “Rainn Wilson on Steve Carell's last day” http://tinyurl.com/7celvs9 An interesting point to ponder is what would be of this online community if the show suddenly begins to disappear? Would it be able to revive itself? Fan blog sites, such as lifeintheoffice.com (LITO), which is run by blogger Brian Stucki, expressed discontent and fury towards Carrell’s withdrawal from the show’s cast. Life in The Office Blog http://tinyurl.com/c8t2bw3 In a clear and straightforward reaction, Stucki has since stopped blogging about the show. I will introduce a variety of electronic literature from websites, including fanfiction.com, Wikia, personal-blogs, and other message-board sites, to demonstrate how the internet has become such a powerful tool for online community, remediation, and interpretive disputes to flourish. '''Understanding Virtual Space''' Technology has redefined the traditional virtues of physical space and fostered them into virtual space. Virtual space has become a boundless area where people of all backgrounds are enabled to convene and discuss matters of particular interest. The conventional book club, essentially a group of people discussing a particular type of literature that they all show interest in, has been a dying aspect of modern culture. People have realized the potential of the internet and have manipulated virtual space by establishing weblogs, wikis, and message-boards to replace the physical aspects of the book club. The format of this final project also demonstrates the changing nature and the power of literature. As students,we are required to post our final products in virtual space (wikis) instead of, say, traditional tri-fold presentation boards (made of cardboard). The progression of time, contribution of knowledge, and discussion have led to the rise of specific knowledge and interpretive communities, essentially online book clubs that are much larger, in virtual space, allowing for extensive contribution. In the beginning of the course, we discussed how ''the'' reader gives the text life and meaning. Walter Ong was very particular about this. Ong,Walter. ''Writing Restructures Consciousness. ''Course Readings..We redefined the qualities of literature and constructed a very broad spectrum of what constitutes a “text.” The Knowledge Community NBC’s hit television show, ''The Office, ''is such a “text” that has developed a profuse online community. Its web presence is a testament to the validity of Ong’s statement. Virtual space has been allotted to the show’s fan-base where they post information concerning episodes, leak special information, and even confer news about the personal lives of the show’s cast. Henry Jenkins discusses spoiler culture in ''Spoiling Survivor '' and how members of online communities depend on one another for hints, tips, and news that the producers of the show, most of the time, do not want the public knowing.Jenkins, Henry.'' Spoiling Survivor.'' Course Readings. For instance, Officetally.com, a fan-site in blog format, reveals that “Mindy Kaling [is] returning to ''The Office'' season 9.”The OfficeTally Spoiler page http://tinyurl.com/cjo3ud4 The site features a page titled spoilers and a red and gray icon displaying “Spoiler Alert.” Spoiler culture has become huge within online communities as people convene to try and decode the future of a particular show. The spoiler page of Officetally.com is centered on the future seasons of ''The Office. ''Following Steve Carrell’s departure from the cast, many fans began to fear the end of their beloved show. One critic endowed ''The Office'' season eight as a “disaster” and claimed that the producers continued filming it “out of pride.”“TV Review: Was Season 8 of The Office a Total Disaster?” http://tinyurl.com/cc5cu2x However, spoilers on Officetally.com have revealed that NBC will carry on the show’s existence into its ninth season. There are several sources that leak information on the spoiler page. Some of these sources include members of the online community. For instance, a tipster that goes by the web-name “ivanARG” posted a quoted response to a question: '''''“Question: What can we expect from season 9 of The Office?''''' ''Ausiello: You can expect to meet Dwight’s kooky clan in this season’s fourth episode. According to sources, that it when NBC is planning to air the Schrute-centric planted spin-off, The Farm.” ''The OfficeTally Spoiler page http://tinyurl.com/cjo3ud4 Fans have leaked that NBC is planning on airing a new show, centered on Dwight Shrute’s farm, concurrently with ''The Office''’s ninth season. This could signal a potential end to the show and the beginning of a new one as NBC’s attempt at assuaging dissatisfied fans. In addition, fans anonymously post tweets the actors have sent out on Twitter. Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on the show, was quoted, tweeting: ''“I so wish I could take a photo of what we are doing today on set. So cool and insane!!!!Ahhhh!!!'' After doing a search on The Office Wikia "Dunderpedia" http://theoffice.wikia.com, also referred to as “Dunderpedia” which includes forums and message-boards, I came upon several posts containing the phrase “spoiler alert!” After ''The Office’s ''sixth season, there was widespread speculation that Holly Flax, a past love-interest of Michael Scott, would return to the show. A blogger named A-Punk posted: ''“SPOILER ALERT! Holly is to return to The Office for 8 episodes!”'' Holly Flax Spoiler Alert http://tinyurl.com/csxnog2 As Henry Jenkins puts it, technology and online community have empowered the “collective intellect” by offering the "ability to expand your individual grasp by pooling knowledge with others." Fans can share Tweets sent out by the show’s cast members that others may not have seen. They report news, such as the production of season nine, that others may not have heard thus making The Office community, as a whole, more knowledgeable. Remediations '''U.S. vs. UK''' Many fans of the popular U.S version are surprised to hear that it is actually based off Ricky Gervais’s BBC version of ''The Office''. I know that one time when I saw an odd DVD version of the show lying around my friend’s room, I asked him if this was just a bad rip-off of the U.S. version. I was surprised to learn that it was a much older and original version of the show. There are people that discuss their views on the internet with regard to which version is the better one, but the point here is that the Michael Scott’s office is a remediation of David Brent. It is not a copy, it is an interpretation “I prefer the American version of The Office”. http://tinyurl.com/6jhs2je.There is room for interpretive dispute, but I draw focus to the qualities that qualify it as a remediation. These include both shows’ similar plot structure and character roles which are mirrored by the U.S. edition. However, some characters are mediated differently, such as Michael Scott, who unlike David Brent’s condescending persona is more infantile and exploited. '''Fanfiction.net''' [http://Fanfiction.net Fanfiction.net] is a technology that enables, for instance, a show’s audience and fans to continue a particular storyline left off by an original episode or season. One of my favorite fan-fiction remediations of ''The Office'' that I came upon was called [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7270498/1/The_Office_Missing_People “Moldemort”] by an author that goes by the web-name of “booktaker”. A lot of the themes that are prevalent in the show are captured in the prologue. For instance, Dwight Schrute’s Harry Potter enthusiasm is highlighted when the prologue commences with Dwight rejoicing the release of Harry Potter Seven: ''"Whoopee! Whoopee!" Dwight skipped through the office with a book in hand. "Hey, Dwight they wrote How to Be an A*shole for Dummies?" Jim asked from his nearby desk. Dwight paused. "No. They finally made the 7th Harry Potter. We'll see who's laughing when Voldemort defeats Harry Potter and reveals his exsistence to us muggles."'' “Moldemort”. Fanfiction http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7270498/1/The_Office_Missing_People It is evident that the writing style is amateur and not professional, but this intro pulls the reader in since they can relate to Dwight’s childish fascination with the book series. Fans of the show do not know much about the character of Creed Bratton, except that he is really old and mysterious. “Moldemort” touches on Creed’s strange nature by employing humor that the story’s audience can relate to: ''"Hey, Pam can I borrow a stapler?" '' ''"Sure Creed. Where are the papers you need to staple?" '' ''"Umm...I'm not using it for paper." '' ''"Then what are you using it for?" '' ''"None of your business." Creed said as he took the stapler from her desk. '' ''"Hmmm, well that was odd." '' This example qualifies as remediation in the same manner ''The Office ''U.S. version is a remediation of the UK version. The stories on fanfiction.com take on the characters and some parts of the storyline to create a reinterpretation of what has already been made so fans are able to relate to it. References